Ratings for the Second Trade and Transport Facilitation Project for Bulgaria were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: trade and transport facilitation projects require very clear leadership and proactive coordination between the various agencies on the Borrowers side as well as with the Bank. Institutional and capacity building through improved procedures, cooperation, and information exchange is equally important as physical improvements made to the infrastructure. Upgrading of border crossing points (BCPs) requires careful attention to planning of land expropriation during preparation and design including proper baseline surveys. Adequate attention to monitoring and evaluation (M and E) of processing times is essential to evaluate large investments needed to enhance BCP performance. Also, impact of such investments often requires a relative long gestation periods. A medium term evaluation is more appropriate.
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This economy profile for Doing Business 2015 presents the 11 Doing Business indicators for Bulgaria. To allow for useful comparison, the profile also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator.
... See More + Doing Business 2015 is the 12th edition in a series of annual reports measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business; for 2015 Bulgaria ranks 38. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 189 economies from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and over time. Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business known as indicators. Ten of these areas are included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures labor market regulation, which is not included in this year's ranking. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2014 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period from January to December 2013).
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At a time of deepening economic difficulties in Bulgaria including a doubling of unemployment the government has recognized the need to re-think its approach to economic and social development by making education a central component of its policy reforms to stimulate more equitable long-term growth.
... See More + This edition of SABER in action explains that the government has committed itself to narrowing the countrys social disparities by targeting Bulgarians at risk for poverty, especially traditionally neglected minorities. In this, process Bulgaria has become a pioneer in the use of the Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) diagnostic tools to inform policy dialogue in four interrelated areas: early childhood development, teacher policies, school autonomy and accountability, and workforce development. The paper ends by introducing the development direction Bulgaria has set out on and how the SABER process will assist Bulgaria in its goals.
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Bulgaria's performance on all three disciplines of the program for international student assessment (PISA) 2012 was slightly better than its PISA 2000 performance, after having dropped between 2000 and 2006.
... See More + The improvements in performance between 2006 and 2012 promoted shared prosperity, but equality of opportunities is still a major challenge. In fact, disaggregating students' PISA scores across a number of variables for example, location and ethnicity - shows that large inequalities exist in Bulgaria's education system. Peer characteristics and school segregation are the key drivers of the Bulgarian education system's performance. An in-depth analysis into math and reading skills shows imbalances in performance in Bulgaria. The main areas in which Bulgaria can further improve its educational system involve: delaying the tracking of students to reduce segregation in schools; continue improving the quality of educational resources to ensure that all students learn in an environment with books, lab equipment, and technological hardware and software; encouraging longer pre-primary education for all children; learning from successful schools to improve accountability mechanisms for schools countrywide, particularly in rural areas; reevaluating the curriculum and assessment framework to better align student learning to the envisaged country goals; and promoting effective classroom management and strengthening teaching practices.
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The development objective of the Municipal Infrastructure Development Project is to: improve the reliability and quality of water provision to the communities in selected settlements in the project area, and assist municipalities to improve investment-planning capacity.
... See More + The restructuring was requested by the Ministry of Finance in a letter to the Bank dated May 15, 2014, following technical visits in July and September 2013 and high level discussions at the 2013 annual meetings. The discussions led to an agreement with the Government of Bulgaria (GoB) on the need for actions to improve project implementation and ensure that the Project Development Objective (PDO) is achieved. The restructuring entails the following: modify the PDO to better align it with the project scope; scale-down of component three by dropping the construction of one dam and associated Water Treatment Plant (WTP); inclusion of the Studena-Pernik water treatment plant in the scope of the project; partial cancellation and reallocation of loan proceeds; extension of the closing date by 24 months, from December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2017; and revision of the results framework.
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The development objective of the Municipal Infrastructure Development Project for Bulgaria is to improve the provision of water and wastewater supply.
... See More + This objective will be met through rehabilitating the water network and supporting institutional improvements in RWCs; and rehabilitating and completing construction of dams to ensure adequate water supply. The above objective is fully in line with Bulgaria's National Strategy on Environment (2005 - 2014) which has an objective to provide good quality and sufficient quantity of water for various purposes and is consistent with the provisions described in the Bank OP 4.12 on Involuntary Resettlement. The resettlement plan offers the following considerations : the bulk of the land required for the main dam wall, dam lakes and corresponding submerged area, ancillary structures and adjacent infrastructure has previously been acquired by the Government of Bulgaria in the years 1986, 1989 and 2000. The additional land acquisition supported under this Project is expected to be relatively minor and will cover construction of ancillary structures including a water purification plant at Luda Yana dam. In the vicinity of Plovdivtzi dam there will be some land acquisition needed (up to 3 1 000
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The development objective of the Municipal Infrastructure Development Project for Bulgaria is to improve the provision of water and wastewater supply.
... See More + This objective will be met through rehabilitating the water network and supporting institutional improvements in RWCs; and rehabilitating and completing construction of dams to ensure adequate water supply. The above objective is fully in line with Bulgaria's National Strategy on Environment (2005 - 2014) which has an objective to provide good quality and sufficient quantity of water for various purposes and is consistent with the provisions described in the Bank OP 4.12 on Involuntary Resettlement. The resettlement plan offers the following considerations : the bulk of the land required for the main dam wall, dam lakes and corresponding submerged area, ancillary structures and adjacent infrastructure has previously been acquired by the Government of Bulgaria in the years 1986, 1989 and 2000. The additional land acquisition supported under this Project is expected to be relatively minor and will cover construction of ancillary structures including a water purification plant at Luda Yana dam. In the vicinity of Plovdivtzi dam there will be some land acquisition needed (up to 3 1 000
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This report presents a comprehensive diagnostic assessment of Bulgaria's workforce development (WfD) policies and institutions. The results are based on a new World Bank tool designed for this purpose, SABER-WfD.
... See More + SABER-WfD is part of the World Bank's initiative on Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) whose aim is to provide systematic assessment and documentation of the policy and institutional factors that influence the performance of key areas of national education and training systems. The SABER-WfD tool encompasses initial, continuing and targeted vocational education and training that are offered through multiple channels and focuses largely on programs at the secondary and post-secondary levels.
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